Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker - fantastic emotional rollercoaster

Just got back from seeing the final Star Wars film in the saga I grew up with since 1977...man...it made me feel my feelings in a public place.  I was wiping away tears at the end...what can I say, I love Star Wars.

I was very satisfied with this end installment - though, I'm prob one of the few who have loved every episode of this sequel trilogy (loved Rogue One and Solo too!).  All of the performances were top-notch with great moments of humor, sadness, and inspiration (even though there was some clunky dialogue - hey, it's Star Wars!).

The Force Awakens refreshingly brought back the fun and feel of the Original Trilogy; The Last Jedi followed it up with an enriching "thinking-man's" Star Wars which, apparently, was too much of a challenge for lesser minds with loud voices to handle; and now, The Rise of Skywalker, though dumbing things back down a bit, finished everything off with a fantastic emotional rollercoaster ride that never let up for a second.  Whew!  Good stuff!

With that said, let's get into some spoiler-ific details - continue on at your own risk...

Star Wars Rogue One: A lifelong Star Wars geek's dream come true

I just saw Star Wars: Rogue One today and I'm just beside myself with geeky glee!  I loved last year's Episode VII: The Force Awakens, which brought the fun back to Star Wars with it's mix of classic and new characters, but this new stand-alone film was truly made by Star Wars nerds for life-long Star Wars nerds like myself who grew up with, and loved, the Original Trilogy.  I can't believe some of the things I just saw in this movie!


I'm going to get spoilery, so if you haven't seen the movie yet - run away, far away, from this page!


Still here?  Ok, I warned you!

The magic of vintage Star Wars toys...

Grab a nice beverage, get cozy, and settle in for a post that meanders into odd places a bit more than I thought it would when I began writing it…

I really like documentaries.  I think I first became a fan of documentaries after seeing Ken Burns’ The Civil War many years ago (heck, I even bought the DVD set).  So, not only have I since watched everything I could get my hands on that Mr. Burns has done (thanks, Netflix, for helping me accomplish this!) but I also now love watching all sorts of things by other folks – there’s nothing like watching something that’s both entertaining and educational *cue a cheezy, old Saturday-morning “The More You Know” and “Knowledge is Power” moment*.  Honestly, if I were to ever meet Ken Burns, I’d probably transform from a calm-normal-dude to giggly-teenage-girl-meeting-some-lame-boy-band…I mean, c’mon, he made the fucking Dust Bowl interesting!  But I digress…

I’m a life-long Star Wars nerd.  My earliest childhood memory goes back to the day when I first saw Star Wars at the old Glenwood Theater here in town.  I don’t remember many details (mainly just R2-D2 and C-3PO walking through the desert, and the Jawa’s), but my mom tells me I sat still for the entire 2 hours (which apparently was a first for me), wide-eyed the whole time.  The following year, the amazing Star Wars universe that had only existed on screen and in storybook photos opened up and sucked me in as Kenner released toys(!) from the movie.  With these toys and my imagination, I could now re-create scenes from the movie and create all sorts of my own amazing adventures!

My first Star Wars toys were received on my 4^th birthday.  Additionally, my baby-sitter was a wizard cake-maker, and for that birthday she created what is still my all-time favorite cake – a miniature R2-D2!!!  Check out two of my old photos from that glorious day many years ago (along with my added commentary):

We've lost a visionary genius...

Ralph McQuarrie has died at the age of 82. 

More than anyone - yes, perhaps even more than George Lucas himself - Ralph McQuarrie was responsible for bringing "Star Wars" to life and changing millions of lives around the world...mine included.  "Star Wars" sparked my creative fire back in 1977 as a 3-year old, and from that point for many years to follow, I spent many an hour drawing pictures and conjuring up stories of all kinds - not just "Star Wars"-related.  So, to find out many years later as a teenager that this grand cinematic vision really sprang from a technical artist from Boeing was a bit of a surprise.  I bought every "Art of Star Wars"-related book I could find just so I could take in every detail of McQuarrie's works of art.  There were many times I wished that a version of "Star Wars" could have been made that looked identical to the style of the paintings he created.  My personal favorite is his depiction of Luke scanning the far-off Mos Eisley spaceport atop a high cliff - I can sit and stare at that painting and just get lost in it...you can almost feel the heat from the twin suns and hear a desolate wind blowing through.

What an amazing talent Mr. McQuarrie was - he may be best known for his "Star Wars"-related work, but it's really just one piece of an incredible portfolio.  Check out his website and be amazed.